


I Am Negan

by undeaducated



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-09 21:17:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11113050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undeaducated/pseuds/undeaducated
Summary: I don't know.  I need to finish things before I start new ones. But nope. not today.The title is a work in progress. Not unique at all. I hate it.





	1. Introduction

Walkers, crawlers, geeks, rotters... Whatever you wanted to call them all they were to me was another obstacle to overcome. It was easy just to be scared, to lock yourself up and hide behind some big walls, but I couldn't just sit around and wait for the day they would undoubtedly cross the threshold of safety and shatter any kind of comfort I could have had. They kill indiscriminately and leave nothing but destruction in their path. There was no staying strong behind a wall. You were safe, stupid, and unaware of the truth hidden by your cage. If anything else I wanted to stay smart, stay vulnerable. I would never forget the horror of what was going on around me, on the outside. Sure, there were plenty of times I could have said no, that's it and joined one of the many accepting compounds or communities, but then I would be giving up more than I ever did on the outside. Out there I didn't have to answer to anyone but myself. I wasn't tied down by rules or sharing in my spoils. It was just me, and my dog Apollo.

Looking at the shaggy pup, you could practically see the divide down the middle of his face of his German Sheppard and Husky sides. One bright blue eye and one stunning brown. A floppy ear and one sticking straight up, always on high alert. His coloring was black and brown, with a white underbelly. This animal was my best and only companion, one I had since before the beginning. He was a gift to me for graduating, the runt of a little my father had told me after finding him in a box on the kitchen floor, a bright blue ribbon tied around his neck. Only a few years later almost everyone I knew was dead and it was just me and Apollo. 

And that was just how I liked it.

It was a late fall afternoon, Apollo had run off ahead of me to survey the area but I could still see him rustling around in the bushes. I was on high alert but from as far as I could see, things were pretty quiet around this part of the road. Apollo was swift and swerving in and out through the trees, looking for a bird or rabbit he could eat. I knew he was hungry, hell, I was too but it just didn't feel safe to stop and scavenge. I had barely made it passed the last horde we had encountered. If it hadn't been for him distracting them and running off I would have been done. I wasn't about to allow myself to be placed in a situation like that again. They'd be catching up on us soon and I wasn't going to waste my time and energy to hunt for a can of beans or two. Apollo would have to hunt and I would make do with the last candy bar I had in my backpack. At least for a few more days.

I had plenty of water, so risks weren't that high. I had gone longer without eating before, this time just felt harder. Most likely because of the change in the weather. It was getting colder and my body was using a lot more of it's stored up energy. Apollo could only keep me so warm at night and it wouldn't be long until I'd had to look for some warmer clothes.

I looked at the cloudy blue sky and smiled to myself, feeling as though I would be just fine. That was the first sure sign that I absolutely wasn't fine. Far from it, actually. If only I had felt the disturbance in the air, the coming storm that would ultimately change everything I was. From a quiet loner who took nothing from anyone, to a powerhouse ruling alongside another with a group larger than the number of people I had interacted with since this whole thing started. No. Since even before then.

I am Negan. And this is my story...


	2. Welcome to Alexandria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yup. Here we go.

The day that changed my life forever started pretty normally, as far as I could remember. I woke up stiffly to Apollo's low bark signaling something or someone was nearby. I stood with my machete in hand and stalked outside the small shed we were sleeping in. Three dead heads surrounded me quickly and with a few quick swings I put them down permanently. Any time I came upon a small group I would try and take them out instead of leaving them be. I knew that someone else might come upon them one day and may not be as lucky as I was. In my head, it was a few less I'd have to worry about in the future, too. Why wouldn't I take them out? 

Sighing deeply, I took a small piece of the candy bar I had left and shoved it in my mouth, eating it as I headed back inside to grab my backpack and the assorted few things I found inside the shed. Not much, a box of matches and as luck would have it, a long sleeved plaid button up, two sizes too big. Tying it around my waist and throwing my bag over my shoulder, I signaled to Apollo that we were leaving and we took off, after closing the place up for the next potential survivor to take shelter in.

I could tell it was early, the sun hardly even peeking over trees that lined our path but there was no sense in sleeping in any longer. It was possible that even more dead heads would be following behind the last ones and I wasn't going to stick around for a larger pack of them that I couldn't handle. Weapon at my side, I trudged through the thick bush, hacking away at branches and plants that got in my way. Apollo jumped gracefully around the dead logs and moss, sniffing around for what I assumed was something to eat. He disappeared not long after and when he returned his snout was covered in blood.

"Good boy." I praised, glad to see he'd found himself something after days of not eating. I pat his head, careful not to get it in the blood and laughed. "Save some for me next time, yeah?"

He looked at me with a goofy smile before continuing to bound over branches and fallen trees. We had been about a mile and half outside the next town from what I could tell from the street signs as we emerged onto the road. I could hear a low rumble not too far off, causing Apollo's ears to perk up. We both backed away into a ditch and I instructed for him to get low. Three or four huge trucks drove passed only moments later, coming over a hill in the horizon. I squinted, getting a quick look at the truck that came up the rear. A man sitting in the passenger seat looking as if he had not a single care in the world. He was smiling widely, seemingly laughing or talking about something but they went by far too quickly for me to really know what it could have been. 

They continued west and I knew then that I would not be heading that way. I picked myself up out of the dirt and proceeded to jog the opposite way, hoping that I wouldn't run into any kind of trouble. Whoever that group was, they were not to be fucked with. It was obvious by the look of their big black vehicles. It was menacing to see, and I was not going to stay around here long enough for either of us to become a problem for each other.

The road was long and straight ahead of me, I could see for a good long while, Apollo trotted easily next to me as I went, keeping an eye out for dead heads. We surprisingly didn't have much trouble here, kicking up leaves and enjoying ourselves as we went, I hummed a simple tune, and tossed a stick once in awhile for my companion to chase. We were in a good position here, but it didn't last long. We came upon a compound and I blinked, heading closer to see if there were any signs of life. It wouldn't be the first time I'd come upon a safe place that had been completely overrun, but as I got closer I could hear people talking.

Normally, I would have taken a left or a right and went straight away from there as fast as I could, but I was starving and that clouded my better judgment. I had helped plenty of people along my journey, perhaps karma would be kind and allow me some kind of reward. What was I thinking? This was the stupidest idea I could have had, and yet there I was. No sooner had I decided to ask for food I was up against the gate, knocking and calling out gently.

"Hey, uh... anyone in there?" 

"Who's there?" I heard a voice ask from the other side.

I cleared my throat a little, suddenly quite nervous. It had been weeks since I had last encountered other people. "I'm friendly."

"Yeah, they all say that."

To my surprise, they opened part of the gate, allowing me to see inside. A small group stood behind the bars, looking tired and defeated. I felt the same way but expected something else for whatever reason. I thought people in compounds were better kept than the foot soldiers out in the open. I smiled casually and told Apollo to sit. A man stepped forward, one I could only assume was the leader of this group and he tilted his head slightly, squinting at me. I was being analyzed and it made me super uncomfortable. I wanted to crawl into a hole that instant but I stood confidently and held out a hand.

"What do you want?" The man asked, his tone slightly harsh.

"I'm, uh, just looking for some food."

"Well, you're shit out of luck." He responded.

"Oh," I blinked, "sorry for bothering you then. I'll be on my way-"

He cut me off, "how many walkers have you killed?" 

"What?"

"The dead, how many of them have you killed?"

"Oh!" I showed off the stained machete I kept at my side before placing it on the ground to show I was no threat. "Not like I've been keeping track or anything, but a lot."

"How many people have you killed?" His blue eyes were intense, piercing right through me.

I held up my wrist, showing sixteen raised straight across scars. "Sixteen."

His eyes narrowed further, the others around him silent as he stepped right up to the gate. "Why?"

"To survive." I responded honestly, "self-defense mostly. A few out of pity, people who were uh, bitten.."

"Are you alone?" 

"Nope," I nodded down toward my pooch who sat patiently next to me, "this is Apollo."

"It's just you and the dog then?"

"Just me and the dog," I confirmed.

It took no time for him to open the gates for me, allowing Apollo and I inside. I blinked as the gate was closed once again behind me and the man pat my shoulder. "My name's Rick, and this here is my son Carl." He introduced far warmer than he had been only moments ago. "Welcome to Alexandria..."


End file.
